Love and Other Games

by Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane, Kara Leigh Miller

  “Is interesting good?”

  “I guess so, but—”

  “No.” He held up a finger to stop her. “Good is good.”

  She laughed. “But it’s another mystery. I still haven’t figured out how you got me to leave with you the other night. That is so not like me. But it happened. You—we—did that. And I thought it would be the end of things, and yet here you are. I can’t figure you out. What are you after here? Or—here’s some sports terminology for you—what’s the goal?”

  He couldn’t tell her the truth, that she was his luck, his lykkeamulett. Not yet. He’d probably sound as crazy as his grandfather did when he talked about sprites and gnomes. She might take it wrong. But he wouldn’t lie either. He’d tread carefully. “Why do I have to be after something? Can’t I just want to spend time with you?”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I’d like to.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not?”

  She shook her head. “No way that’s good enough. You went out of your way to get me to come out tonight. You’re not just chatting me up at a party.”

  “Okay. I lied. I can’t forget seeing you naked.”

  “You’re funny.” She laughed even as her face turned pink.

  “I have many talents.”

  “I’m aware. Dancing. Skiing. Charming nice girls out of their panties.”

  “So you think I’m charming?” Erik grinned. He had a few more talents he’d like the opportunity to show off, but he’d bide his time. He couldn’t afford to scare her off again.

  Chapter Six

  “I haven’t done this since I was—actually, I don’t know if I ever did this.” Amy patted the side of their snowman, pushed in a twig to serve as a nose and moved back to survey their work. Shiny red berry eyes stared back at her. They needed something for his mouth. The cold burned through her knit gloves and stung her fingers, but she was enjoying herself too much to care. On the walk home they’d come across an impromptu snowman building contest and joined in. Olympians were a competitive bunch and Erik was no exception. Their creation towered over both of the nearest snowfolk.

  “How can that be? Every kid makes a snowman.” Erik stood a few feet away. His breath made puffy little clouds as he spoke.

  “We don’t get a lot of snow in South Carolina, and when we did I guess we were just busy.” When she was young, before her mother died, she was always heading to skating practice or exhausted after practice. Later she was more worried about helping with Lexi than playing in the snow. Amy picked up the branch they’d chosen for an arm and made a starter hole with her finger.

  “No snow? I guess that means you don’t know how to do this either.”

  “Wha—” A snowball splattered against her shoulder. Gasping, she looked at Erik. He waved another snowball and flashed a white grin. “Oh. You’ll pay for that, mister.”

  “How?” He tossed the snowball in her direction.

  Amy ducked, smiling when it sailed over her shoulder. “It’s on now.” She bent and gathered a pile of snow, scowling when it didn’t hold the shape.

  “I’m still waiting,” Erik taunted. “I guess you can’t do it.”

  Incredulous, she peeked back over her shoulder. The man had a small pile of snowballs already prepared and waiting by his feet. Fine. There was another way to play this. She stood up straight, pasted on a flirty pout and took a step in his direction. “You’re right.” She took another step. “I guess I’m just more used to bikinis than snowballs. I’ll bet you could teach me.” She placed her hand on his chest, locked her gaze with his, and lowered her voice. “Maybe you could teach me how to make snowballs and I could … I could—steal yours!” She bent, scooped several balls up and ran.

  Erik caught up in seconds, tackling her so they both tumbled onto the ground. “Tricky girl. Maybe I’ll steal something too.” He kissed her hard and fast and, for a few seconds, even her fingertips forgot about the cold.

  He lifted his head. “I win.”

  “No,” She poked her finger against his hard chest. “You cheat. You gave me no warning and—and I’m wearing high-heeled boots because you’re ridiculously tall. You’re like a giant.”

  He laughed. “Nice try. But you are a burglar, and that is much worse.”

  “But is it worse than ditching a girl the morning after sex?”

  “I didn’t ditch you, and you’ve already forgiven me.”

  “I have?”

  He nodded.

  He was right. She had. It was hard to stay mad at someone so charming. Amy still had concerns, she still worried that getting closer would only lead to hurt after the games, but she wasn’t angry. Not with him. Not with herself. People had done much crazier things after catching Olympic Fever. Amy lifted her head, brushed her lips across his, and kissed his cheek. “You’re right. I did.”

  His smile sent tingles all the way down to her toes. “We should go inside.” He stood and held out a hand to help her up. “We can get you something warm to drink.”

  “Sounds good to me.” She reached over and brushed snow off his shoulder. Actually, with his accent, most of what Erik said sounded good, but she figured his ego was big enough without her mentioning that.

  ***

  Amy hummed as she strolled up to the suite she shared with her father and sister near the Olympic Village. Her father had been, rightly, concerned that the athlete’s village would be too distracting or potentially inappropriate for his teenage daughter and had instead shelled out the cash for more private quarters. Well, sort of private. Amy now found herself wishing she had a room that didn’t share a living space with her dad and her kid sister. Thinking about what she’d do with a more private room brought a smile to her lips.

  Dinner, playing in the snow and sipping on some exceptional Swiss hot chocolate with Erik was wonderful. She was almost giddy. She was in far too good a mood to be bothered by her sister’s shouting when she entered the room.

  “You have got to be kidding me. That’s no fair!”

  Her father didn’t look up from his tablet. “I’ve made my decision, Alexis.”

  “I’m almost eighteen. You can’t just keep me locked up in here. It’s bad enough I can’t stay in the village, but this … this is—” She turned to Amy. “Tell him he’s being unfair. I just want to see something, maybe meet some people. It’s supposed to be a once in a lifetime opportunity, not a sit-in-a-hotel-room-and-be-coddled-like-a-baby opportunity.”

  Amy stepped up behind Lexi and pulled her hair back, finger-combing the long blonde locks. “I thought you were going to a spa tomorrow.”

  “Yuck. I’m in Switzerland. At the Olympics. And all I’ve seen is the arena for practice and about a million reporters.”

  Lexi had a point, but Amy couldn’t deny her father was right to be concerned. She squeezed her little sister’s shoulder. “What if she stayed with me? We could do something touristy together. Ooh—there’s a chocolate factory that give tours. Cailler. We’d take the train out and back. It’s supposed to be a nice ride for sightseeing.”

  Lexi looked back over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose.

  Amy winked and continued. “I could even take a few pictures to give the press. Perfectly wholesome fun. Sister-time even.” She bit back a chuckle at Lexi’s dismayed expression and smiled at their father.

  He pursed his lips and appeared to give it a great deal of consideration. “I suppose that would be acceptable, as long she is back by eight.”

  Lexi looked ready to argue again. Amy tightened her grip on her shoulder in warning.

  “Sure. We can do that.”

  “Try not to get sick eating candy. You’re here to compete.”

  “I won’t. I promise.” Lexi nodded enthusiastically at their father, then followed Amy into her room. She shut the door. “Be back by eight? It’s like he thinks I’m twelve. What are we actually doing tomorrow?” She dropped down on Amy’s bed and traced the embroidered pattern with her finger.

>   “Taking a train ride and touring a chocolate factory.”

  Lexi’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”

  Amy covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed, hard. “Your face is priceless.”

  “I thought you were on my side.”

  “I am. Well, I’m on both sides, but trust me on this. I have a plan.”

  Chapter Seven

  “I still can’t believe you got all those guys to come tour a chocolate factory.” Amy laughed and stretched her neck to see the train seats occupied by her sister and a few of Erik’s teammates.

  “I told them there would be hot babes and food. Easy sell.”

  She paled. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for us to sit so far from them?” They’d all sat together on the trip up but Erik had maneuvered to get alone time with Amy on the ride back.

  “They know she’s your little sister.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “And I told them to treat her like she was my little sister.” He’d actually gone into a great bit more detail with the guys, but she didn’t need to hear about it.

  Amy turned back to him, her eyes wide. “You did that?”

  “You said you wanted her to have fun but not too much fun.” She was looking at him like he was a hero. It was damned nice.

  “I do. She is. I mean, look at her, it’s like she’s holding court.” Amy shook her head.

  Lexi Peirce did appear very comfortable juggling the attention of three of his younger teammates. “See, she is fine. You don’t need to worry so much.”

  A two-hour train ride to tour a chocolate factory wouldn’t have ranked high on Erik’s list of possibilities for the day, but he never considered turning down Amy’s offer.

  It had turned out even better than he’d hoped. Lexi and his boys were getting along well, and seeing Amy with her sister had been enlightening. Though they were sisters and truly not very different in age, it was clear that Amy had taken on many of a mother’s responsibilities. It was admirable but also a little sad. She worried too much for someone so young.

  “It is sweet to see you with your sister. She is a lot like you, I think.”

  Amy seemed stunned. “I don’t know where you’re getting that. We don’t even look related.”

  “I wouldn’t say that. You have the same cute nose. But I meant that she is like you, smart and … ” He struggled to find the right words in English. “She says what she is thinking, as you do.”

  “I suppose so. Lexi’s always had this confidence and charm. Everyone likes her. I’m … different.”

  Amy didn’t see herself. She had no idea how brightly she shone. He saw it. He felt her warmth. “You were jealous maybe?”

  Amy lifted her shoulder then let it drop. A bit of pink colored her cheeks. “Yeah. A little, when I was young. She was the baby and everyone knew she’d be a star. She even looks like my mom. But I love her, more than anything, I love her.”

  “Of course.” He reached over and entwined their fingers. “I always wished I could have some brothers or even a sister.”

  “So you’re an only child?”

  “My parents were older when they married. I think even one was a big surprise.”

  She rubbed her thumb on the top of his hand. Her skin was soft, the hands of a girl who worked on a keyboard and used a fancy lotion every night. “I know you’re from Norway, but I don’t know anything else about where you grew up. Was it a city or more like this?” Amy pointed at the vast snow-covered hills through the train’s window.

  “I grew up in Moss. It’s on the ocean. Small?” He considered it. “No. I wouldn’t say that. You might, but we have an airport, factories to make clothes and metal. There are art galleries and restaurants. We get visitors from all over the world.”

  “That doesn’t sound too different than Charleston. That’s where I’m from. It’s in South Carolina. Ocean. Tourists.”

  “Is that near Vermont?”

  She giggled. “No. Not at all close. Why?”

  “My friend Jon, he’s a skier also—we are planning to open a school for skiing in Vermont.”

  “You’re going to live in the states.”

  “Yes. I plan to.” He couldn’t read her expression. “Is that good or not?”

  She shrugged, her pretty red hair bounced over her shoulder. “I don’t know much about Vermont. I think they get a lot of snow so it should be a good place to ski.”

  Not exactly what he was asking. Hell, he wasn’t even certain what he was asking. He lifted her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

  ***

  He barely touched her and she was breathless. “We shouldn’t do that kind of—Lexi’s right over there.”

  “Lexi is plenty busy.” His eyes held hers and he leaned close. “But I have been waiting to kiss you all day.”

  His lips grazed her earlobe.

  Signing up to spend the whole day with her sister and Erik had seemed like a good idea, but the need to be a good role model was definitely putting a cramp on things. Lexi looked occupied for the moment, but she could glance their way at any time. Amy couldn’t let her little sister see her making out with a guy she’d only just met on a public train … no matter how much she might want to do just that.

  Erik squeezed her hand and grinned. “Come with me.”

  “Where?”

  “Just trust me. Come.” His eyes flashed with mischief.

  Amy shot another quick glance toward her sister and nodded. “Okay.”

  For a large man, Erik maneuvered his way down the narrow aisle and into the next car with startling ease. He pulled open the door for a tiny restroom, tugged her inside and locked the door.

  “Erik! We can’t. If we’re caught—” There was barely enough room for them both to stand. She looked up and spoke to his chin.

  “No one cares.” He lifted her by her waist and set her on the low counter top with the sink and paper towels. “There.” Erik stepped into the space between her knees and cupped her face with his hands. He still had to bend down to kiss her, but they took up less floor space. “Much better.” His mouth slanted over hers and he kissed her deeply. Her toes curled. Lust pooled deep in her gut. Deeper. All thoughts of resisting drifted away.

  Amy wrapped her arms around his waist and clutched at his shirt. Her fingertips itched to touch. She bunched the fabric in one hand and skimmed her fingers over his hot skin

  The man knew how to kiss. He took his time teasing and exploring. His tongue swept across her bottom lip and she moaned. Oh God. She had to be quiet. There were seats right on the other side of a thin wall.

  “Your mouth.” He whispered harshly. “Your mouth makes me crazy. Faen, watching you taste the candies. Licking. Biting.” He pressed his lips to her neck, nibbled his way to her earlobe and bit gently. “Want your mouth on me, lykkeamulett.”

  “Yes.” She shoved his shirt up, pushing his chest until he stopped and pulled it over his head. Amy laid her hands on his stomach. Exquisite. Years of hard work had chiseled his body like artist would marble. His muscles rippled, quivered beneath her touch. So hot. She slid her palms around his waist and, clutching at his back, pressed a kiss above his belly button.

  Erik threaded his fingers into her hair. Her lips brushed lower and his hand clenched.

  “Amy, lo—”

  He was hard, his erection strained against his jeans. Amy dipped her fingers below the denim waistband, rubbing the cool steel of his belt buckle with her thumb and looked up at him. His eyes were nearly black, his skin flushed. “Do you think you can stay very, very quiet?”

  Nostrils flaring, he nodded and banged his hand on the wall behind her. Holding her gaze with his own, he said something low and deep in Norwegian. She didn’t recognize a single word, but the intent was clear. He wanted her.

  Amy smiled slowly. It was wicked. Even considering it should have shocked her to the core. His breaths quickened as she tugged open his belt and unbuttoned his jeans. She lowered the zipper. “I don’t know
if you can do it. Maybe we should stop and go back to our seats.”

  Erik tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back, bending to claim her lips in a fierce kiss. “I want you—want you off the train and in my bed.”

  The one and only time Amy had played the I Never drinking game during college she hadn’t taken a single sip as her friends described wild and wanton behavior and drank to announce their participation in said acts. A week in Switzerland—five days knowing Erik—and that would never happen again.

  Amy placed her finger over his lips. “Shh. If you can’t be quiet, I’m gonna stop.”

  He nipped at her fingertip. She chuckled breathlessly and slid her finger across his lips, over his chin and down to his chest. His breath hitched as she circled his nipple. “I could happily touch you for hours,” she whispered. “But I think we should make this quick.”

  When she reached for the waistband of his boxer briefs, Erik steadied himself with a hand on the ceiling.

  “Wow.” Yeah. She’d realized he was big the other night, but in the light of day … wow. She’d done this before, wanting to please her boyfriend of the time, but she’d never ached to do it. She’d never craved the taste of someone.

  “Takk. I’m glad you like.”

  She glanced up and he winked. Amy laughed as she trailed her fingertips down his length. She did like. He was nearly naked but she was fully dressed. It was an erotic and surprisingly powerful sensation. She gripped the base of his erection. He was at her mercy. Erik was strong and tall and gorgeous and he shuddered from her touch.

  The light from the tiny window near the ceiling vanished as the train entered a tunnel. In the darkness, she leaned down and found him with her tongue. Salty. Wet. Hot. He groaned.

  “Shh.” She murmured, bestowing a long, leisurely lick.

  One large hand settled on the back of her head as they exited the tunnel. He rubbed gentle circles against her scalp, messing up her tidy braid.